Chise didn't believe in superstitions or that there might be a higher power out in the universe. She liked to believe in free will. Things had gone horribly with Eraserhead the morning after The Drink Incident, during The Drink Incident…2.0? She needed a better name. The Coffee Spilling Incident.
God, did Eraserhead suck her dry of her creativity with his intimidating, moody attitude? And why did she need to refer to these incidents so officially with their own codenames? These incidents were going to be the last times she'd ever have to see him again. She'd transfer Dubu to another veterinary office, far away from UA. She'll move her pro hero agency out of Shizuoka too. She'd do anything and everything so that she wouldn't have to be in the same prefecture as UA, as Eraserhead.
If only…
That was easier said than done when she was a graduate assistant to Dr. Yui Tanaka. Chise thought it might've been a good idea to get on good terms with Dr. Tanaka for the near future when the very tenured woman would eventually become her dissertation research advisor at Keio University. The people-pleaser in Chise led her to be overzealous about the tasks she'd do for Dr. Tanaka, including working once per week at the Musutafu General Hospital as Dr. Tanaka's personal assistant. She didn't think this was legal, to be used like this.
Maybe Chise was being overdramatic again. Chise was an intern in Musutafu General Hospital's quirk therapy department, and Dr. Tanaka had practically given her the job without much work from Chise's side. Despite being the introverted nerd she was, Chise loved working with children. She could never put her finger on why, but if she had to come up with an answer it was maybe because she saw herself in the children she helped. Nothing left her happier than knowing another kid had been spared the doubt, fear, and confusion she had felt about her own quirk. Not even Eraserhead could take that happiness away from her. He could tell her she wasn't good enough for UA or that she wasn't good enough to be pro hero, but he couldn't tell her that she hadn't helped the children that left her office every week.
Oh, but Eraserhead could take her happiness away, because nothing was bringing up her mood, not even when one of her little patients had drawn a picture for her with crayons as a thank-you note.
Everything was Eraserhead's fault, even if he liked to say it wasn't. He was the reason she was feeling this way. He was the reason why she could hardly concentrate on her work because she was split between feeling genuinely bad about the way she'd ended things and being angry at herself for feeling bad. Chise was about ready to google "How do you apologize to a stranger and tell them you have a crush on them without seeming creepy" but got interrupted by her pager and cell phone going off at the same time.
Chise panicked a little, because she really couldn't handle anything more on her plate until she finished writing, what must have been at least, twenty patient case files.
"Hello, this is Chise."
Her stomach churned at the message on her pager: Alert - major incident at UA: east campus, USJ; citizens are to shelter in place; calling all available police and pro heroes to respond.
Musutafu rarely had any villainous incidents. It was a quiet, small town. Villains with even half their brains knew to avoid Musutafu because there were at least fifteen tenured pro hero faculty members at UA. Most people also knew that UA housed a fleet of ginormous, incredibly expensive, military robots ready to be dispensed if needed.
She was in a state of shock that she barely caught what was being said to her over the phone and who was on the other side.
"Principal Nezu? Is everything ok?" she asked, hesitantly. Her fingers hovered over the accept button on her pager.
He sounded grimmer than he usually was.
"I'm afraid not, Chise–"
"-Chise, I need you." Dr. Tanaka seemed frazzled as she threw the door open to the lab and she was rarely frazzled.
"I'm so sorry Principal Nezu, give me one second." Chise turned to Dr. Tanaka. "I'm here, sorry. There's been an incident at UA?"
"Oh yeah, you went to UA, didn't you? It's all over the news right now. Two patients just arrived from the incident. Teachers at UA, pro heroes Eraserhead and Thirteen. They need a preliminary assessment of the damage to Eraserhead's quirk and an assessment of Thirteen's injuries."
"Eraserhead? Is he ok?" For a stilling moment, Chise could only focus on Eraserhead's name, and it wasn't because that she still hadn't gotten over him. She felt sick to her stomach for so many reasons. He'd been perfectly fine just a few days ago. He had somehow lost when he was so good at disposing of villains. The injuries were horrific enough that he and Thirteen were coming to Musutafu General Hospital instead of just being healed by Recovery Girl at UA. And, they needed an assessment on whether or not he could use his quirk still.
"-Chise, are you still there?" Principal Nezu muffled voice came through her phone again.
"I'm so sorry Dr. Tanaka, I have the UA principal on the phone right now."
Dr. Tanaka gave a bit of a knee-jerk reaction. "Oh, I didn't realize you were still that close to UA. Didn't you say you didn't enjoy your time there very much?" Dr. Tanaka paused as if trying to evaluate something. "It's fine, meet me in the MRI room when you're done."
Chise was glad that despite how strict Dr. Tanaka was and how harsh her criticisms could get, Dr. Tanaka let the phone call slide.
"I'm here, Principal Nezu. I'm at Musutafu General Hospital. I've just been called to handle Eraserhead's and Thirteen's case with Dr. Tanaka right now."
"It may be better to talk in person." The line ended just like that, with no other information or pleasantries exchanged. Principal Nezu's brevity should've made Chise happy, but it only scared her more. What on earth could've happened at USJ?
Chise knew very little, in actuality, when it came to injuries, other than what sounded bad and what kind of first aid she could do as a pro hero on the scene with injured citizens. She had never seen someone so broken right in front of her. She wished she could do something.
His arms were basically nonexistent, the bones were splintered, and she was amazed that Recovery Girl had assured her that his arms and all his other broken bones would be fine and the least of their worries. They were most worried about the brain damage. Something Recovery Girl couldn't heal. His orbital floor was almost completely destroyed. They had no way of knowing he'd be able to see again.
They didn't need Dr. Tanaka's assessments to figure out if Eraserhead's quirk had been majorly damaged, not when they weren't even sure if his vision would ever come back. Chise didn't like how cold Dr. Tanaka had been when she gave that exact verdict, even though Chise herself had tried to remain impassive as she detailed how Thirteen's own quirk, Black Hole, had pulled the layers of skin and muscles off in uneven chunks; slow enough that they would've been in excruciating pain while it happened. Thirteen was immediately whisked away to the surgery room after Chise had given her assessment and Dr. Tanaka had approved it.
It was nearly four when Dr. Tanaka dismissed her for the day and went home.
Chise found Principal Nezu and Recovery Girl speaking with a police detective on her way to check up on Thirteen and Eraserhead one last time before she left.
"Cheshire, right?"
"Yeah, you can call me Chise when I'm not in costume." Chise tried to greet the detective light-heartedly because they all seemed like they needed a break from the gloom.
"I'm Lt. Naomasa Tsukauchi, a detective in the Violent Quirk Crimes unit. Principal Nezu was suggesting something…" the dark-haired detective paused for a moment with an uncomfortable look on his face, "interesting. Would you be willing to give it a try? It would help me and the police tremendously as well as with Eraserhead and Thirteen's injuries."
"Of course, what can I do?"
Chise really should've been more suspicious of the way the detective had hesitated. She really should've known better, that anything Principal Nezu had an active involvement in was highly suspicious.
She really should've expected that they wanted her to do something impossible, something that could only have been thought up by someone insane, for example, Principal Nezu.
"I'm sorry, could you explain this all to me again? You want me to do what?" Chise blinked blankly at the group.
"It would probably ensure Eraserhead's and Thirteen's full recovery." The detective tried to convince her, although he couldn't do so without wincing as if pained by a physical wound.
Chise didn't believe there was a higher power in the universe, but now she did, and the higher powers must've hated her. Because it would've been the only reason why she had such rotten luck, why she had the world's strangest quirk, and why she was always forced to fulfill such awkward requests using Nutriment.
"Stop being such a shrinking violet, you're not some inexperienced high schooler anymore." Recovery Girl scolded, giving Chise a sound whack on the back of her leg with her pink syringe-shaped cane. "You're the Supplement Hero Cheshire now."
Ouch! Chise never knew Recovery Girl could get so violent. Her UA hero course classmates were always scared of Recovery Girl and now Chise finally understood why. God, she had whacked her hard!
"If it means that I'm helping Eraserhead, then-" Chise resigned to her fate. "Fine, I'll do it."
"Good, now make sure you get 'em good like how I taught you." Recovery Girl said to her.
Chise thought things were over between her and Eraserhead. There had to be a higher power out there that hated her, or perhaps she'd broken one too many mirrors, because those were the only possible reasons why she found herself having to swallow her pride, her shyness, her dignity, basically everything except her kitchen sink to save Eraserhead's life.
Though Eraserhead would make a full recovery and come to remind her in the coming days that he would've been just fine without her help. To which Chise would spiral a little, because why else would she have followed Principal Nezu's plan and put herself through such a harrowing experience, like kissing that thing?
It had been a few hours already, and Chise still felt like puking.
Chise had been invited into UA to rest up a little after her harrowing experience. So, there she sat on the couch in the teacher's lounge with a bucket held in her lap in case she really did need to puke.
"How are you feeling, Cheshire?" came a polite voice.
Chise perked up, instantly trying to make herself appear less sickly. She didn't recognize the dorky, unnaturally thin man. He vaguely reminded her of someone. Judging by his yellow pinstriped suit, though his suit was at least five sizes too big for him, she assumed he might've been a teacher she'd seen in passing at UA. Maybe someone from networking night? He was impossibly tall, Chise was sure he must've been just as tall as All Might.
"Ah, we haven't met before. My name is Toshinori Yagi, I work for All Might as his secretary and teacher's assistant. Nice to meet you." He grinned at her, enjoying some private joke with himself as he made his way over with his business card in hand.
"All Might gets his personal secretary on campus?"
Did being the number one hero get you this kind of special treatment even at UA and with Principal Nezu?
Yagi coughed uncomfortably at the comment. "I'm also working at UA as a teacher's assistant. I handle All Might's schedule. I field requests from his agency and work them around his teaching responsibilities."
"Understandable," she mumbled, not exactly buying the lie he seemed very desperate in feeding her.
Chise stared at Yagi curiously, who looked to be having an internal battle. He looked as if he was trying to psych himself up, like how Chise did to herself right before having to give a presentation. In that moment, she felt a strange kinship with All Might's personal secretary, and she decided to help him like she would a small lost child, even though the man easily could've been old enough to be her father.
"Is there something I can help you with?" she asked, tentatively, kindly.
"Ah yes, I-All Might wanted to ask a favor."
"All Might does?"
"I'm not sure how NutriCrate works…but do you think you'd be able to make something that could boost All Might's quirk? I'd pay you, of course."
"Boost his quirk?
"You're repeating me, Cheshire," Yagi said, amused.
Chise shifted uncomfortably, embarrassed that she was getting scolded like a student. "Sorry, I'm just confused why Mr. All Might would need a quirk booster when he's doing so well without my help. Did he get injured from the fight earlier?"
"Ah," Yagi spluttered. Chise was sure she saw some blood flying out of his mouth when he did so, but the man quickly wiped everything away with a tissue. "F-fair question! It's not that. He's fine. It's just that, you know, teaching future hero students and hero-ing at the same time leaves him pretty exhausted at the end of the day. He hasn't really gotten a good night's sleep or a good meal in a while so-"
"Oh, I'm sorry to put you in a difficult position, but I don't complete NutriCrate orders for pros that use my services as a replacement for what they should be doing." Chise interrupted, mildly shocked that All Might did not take care of himself. "Please pass on my sincerest apologies to Mr. All Might and tell him that if he'd like to boost his quirk performance then he should take the proper steps to have a better night's sleep and eat three nutritious meals a day."
Did she just say no to the number one hero?
Yagi deflated like a balloon as if he'd just received news about some unavoidable impending doom. Chise shuddered a little at the thought of Yagi getting yelled at by All Might. With how large and boisterous All Might was, surely, he'd easily be able to snap Mr. Yagi in half. Was All Might a strict boss? Chise knew of some pros being completely different from their public personas, even the seemingly sweet heroes could be hiding a darker, meaner personality behind the cameras. It seemed impossible that All Might could be mean, but he also seemed to accomplish everything with absolute perfection so maybe he also expected perfection from his employees.
"That is precisely what I've been telling you. All Might needs to take better care of himself," said the principal, suddenly appearing in the teacher's lounge and back to his usual chipper self. "It seems we can't rely on Chise's quirk."
"I see."
Yagi looked way more disappointed than she would have expected. Was he going to get fired if she didn't get him what All Might wanted? She met eyes with the principal for answers, who had an expression that said I know something, and you don't, and no, I won't be sharing it.
Instead of helping her understand the situation, the principal changed topics.
"Chise, you'll be happy to know that thanks to you, Eraserhead and Thirteen will be fully recovered by the end of the week. With that said, how do you feel about substituting in and teaching a class at UA tomorrow?"
"I suppose that depends on the class topic and time. I mean if it's biology and after lunch, I guess I could–"
"Eraserhead's Foundational Hero Studies class in the afternoon."
She panicked. "A hero course? I understand you may be short-staffed at the moment with upping security and having two teachers out, and I'd be happy to teach English or math, but maybe Ectoplasm or another pro hero can teach Eraserhead's class–"
"On the contrary, you'd be the best fit, Chise."
You mean the worst class for me to teach?
"Good, we'll be seeing you tomorrow in the afternoon at 1:10. Don't be late."
Good? I haven't agreed to anything!
"I'll be expecting you."
Principal Nezu gave Chise a satisfied pat on her shin with his little paw. His actions might've looked cute and endearing to others, but Chise knew he was suggesting something much more sinister - that what he said was final, that he wouldn't be taking anything but a yes, absolutely, sir as an answer, that he wouldn't hesitate to bring out his claws if needed. He liked to trick prospective and new students into thinking he was this cute, caring, incredibly intelligent creature, but most of his students graduated UA knowing his true nature and just how terrifying he could get.
Yagi gave Chise a pitiful, almost mournful, pat on the shoulder. And what might've been meant as a reassuring gesture only made her stomach churn, and that small spike of anxiety was enough to send her into feeling like she might puke again.
The moment Chise opened the door to Eraserhead's 1A homeroom she met eyes with a familiar, dark, tired man. A man that shouldn't have been there, because why else would she have been requested to substitute in for him? A man that she didn't want to see again, because, well she had poisoned him, made him nearly spill hot coffee on himself, and practically cussed him out and told him he was a horrible teacher.
"You're late."
He seemed ok, more than ok if Chise thought about how he looked just last night. His right arm was in a cast, held against his side with a sling, and his left hand was bandaged still too. But that was the extent of his injuries; no other wounds were visible to her.
"Principal Nezu said I was subbing in, but if you're back, then–"
"I told him that I was fine to teach today since I've mostly recovered, but he was quite insistent that I let you teach my class today."
Right, Principal Nezu's insistence was rather powerful. Chise hated herself for missing that buttery voice of his, so deep and even.
"Who the fuck is this extra?" A fouled mouth boy shouted at her.
She quickly snapped out of her daydreaming when she realized twenty other pairs of eyes were on her.
Extra?
"Watch your mouth, Bakugou. I won't warn you again."
God, should she be feeling relieved that he was using that same horribly disapproving tone with his students? Or maybe she should be feeling horrible because he treated her like one of his students.
"Introduce yourself."
"Right," Chise mumbled to herself, before quickly changing her demeanor so she'd appear more confident and cheerier to her temporary students and not some lovesick puppy that was head over heels for their teacher. "Hi everyone, I'm Chise Sugawara, a support hero called Cheshire. In lieu of the recent events, I'm substituting for Eraserhead today. You can call me Chise or Cheshire, whatever makes you most comfortable."
"Are you a new hero or something?" A student with distinctive pink skin asked, excitedly. "It's always nice to see a new female hero in action! I'm Mina Ashido by the way."
"Nice to meet you, Ashido, I was a business course student at UA, and actually, Ectoplasm was my homeroom teacher. After I graduated, I enrolled in a government-sponsored hero training program and got my license that way. All post-UA, so I've been in the circuit for maybe four years? Probably never heard of me, I go out of my way to stay out of the spotlight." Chise explained, giving them all a disarming smile.
"So, you're like an underground hero then, like Mr. Aizawa, ribbit?" A frog-like girl quirked her head at Chise.
"No, not exactly. I think Mr. Eraserhead and I are quite different. I'm more of the background, support type like Power Loader. I help other pros do their job a little easier if that makes sense."
"Oooo ooo, what's your quirk?" Ashido blurted, ignoring how her other classmates had been patiently raising their hands.
"Enough." The room dropped a few degrees. "She's supposed to be teaching you battle tactics today, not turning this into a Cheshire meet and greet. Get started, you're wasting time."
There he went again, pushing the blame onto her like everything was her fault and her fault only.
When Eraserhead made no other move to help her, opting to crawl into a bright yellow sleeping bag, it occurred to Chise that maybe she hadn't thought through this whole mess as thoroughly as she should have. Because teaching biology would have been one thing. She knew cell theory like the back of her own hand. But teaching a hero course with Eraserhead staring at her so intently, judging her, challenging her, from his comfy little spot inside his sleeping bag, wasn't something she was prepared for.
"Can I teach them whatever I want?" She hated how unsure she sounded.
After a long pause, he said, "Within reason."
She hated how vague his answer was.
She especially hated that she wanted to do a good job, so he'd approve of her like she was one of his students.
She hated how her brain zeroed in on the small tug at the corners of his lips, and how suddenly she was falling more in love with him…which she didn't even know was possible.
Fuck me.
Ugh, but maybe like actually though.